Telford Family of Ellinbank
Leicestershire Families -Gilbert, Buckley and Abbott
The Gilberts in Leicestershire
The Gilbert family came from the region of Leicester, England which from the middle ages was a centre of wool growing and cloth manufacture. It became a major centre for the manufacture of hosiery and footwear particularly from the time of the industrial revolution in the 18th century and the construction of the Leicester Navigation canal (at right) completed in 1794 which made the city accessible for shipping to and from London.
At left is a Frame Knitting Machine used in the hosiery industry.
Alfred Gilbert’s father William Ralph Gilbert was born and buried at Kirby Muxloe and his burial record identifies him as “late of Hinckley in the County of Leicester”. The Kirby Muxloe church and burial ground is pictured above ( in 2017 ). Hinckley was at the very centre of (woollen) hosiery manufacture from as early as the 1600s and with 6000 people employed in the industry in 1830.
William’s grandfather Thomas (and probably also his father Thomas junior) was a farmer at Kirkby Mallory with cattle but most probably also sheep providing wool to the hosiery industry. William left the farm and became a “wool stapler” which involved buying and grading of wool for selling onto various customers including hosiery manufacturers.
A notice in the London Gazette dated January 1, 1812 gives notice of the formation of the firm of Burgess and Gilbert at Leicester, partners William Ralph Gilbert and Henry Burgess.
In Pigot's Commercial Directory of 1818 the firm is listed in Market St, Leicester along with some 20 other Wool Stapler enterprises and numerous Worsted Spinners.
William entered into the business partnership at 22 years of age; 2 years later he married Mary Ann Buckley in 1814 at St Margaret’s church in Leicester. Mary Ann was 21 years old.
St Margaret’s church to the north of Leicester city is one of the older buildings in Leicester dating from the 15th century.
St Mary de Castro is even earlier parts of it dating from the 12th century although major extensions occurred later. It is adjacent to the castle and the Leicester Canal. The 2 churches are both Church of England ( Anglican) but St Mary’s is high church Anglo-catholic whereas St Margaret’s is more evangelical.
St Mary de Castro is pictured above.
The Gilbert family would have been familiar with these landmarks but much of the city has been built or undergone redevelopment in the 20th century - including Harvey Lane where they lived for a time and where William still owned property at the time of his death as mentioned in his will and which he directed to be sold and the proceeds to be shared equally between his offspring.
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The certificate (below) recording the marriage of Willam Ralph Gilbert and Mary Ann Buckley is from the parish records of St Margaret’s, Leicester, and available at findmypast.com.au which is valuable resource particularly for births and marriages in England and for wills in some counties including Leicestershire. The licence, also available online, was issued on the 12th April, 2 days before the actual wedding, to William Ralph Gilbert, wool-stapler, of the parish of St Margaret’s, aged 23, bachelor and Mary Ann Buckley of the parish of St Mary (de Castro), Leicester, aged 22, spinster.
William and Mary Ann had 10 children, all except Alfred baptised at Leicester:
Mary Ann on 15/3/1815 . . . . . at St Margaret's
John William on 28/1/1817 . . . at St Margaret’s
Henry on 19/2/1819 . . . . . . . at St Margaret’s
Catharine on 22/4/1823 - at St Mary de Castro - died Jan.1824 and buried here
Maria on 30/12/1824 . . . . . . . at St Mary de Castro
Priscilla on 10/1/1827 . . . . . . . at St Mary de Castro
Charles Oxtoby on 19/4/1829 . . . at St Mary de Castro
Edward Ralph on 25/1/1831 . . . . . . at St Mary de Castro
Lemuel Abbott on 10/12/1832 . . . . . at St Mary de Castro
Alfred on 7/10/1834 . . . at Enderby
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Enderby village is pictured at the top of this page
The locations of the baptisms reflect the residential addresses at the time as recorded on the baptism records. These were successively Market St; Harvey Lane, Leicester and Enderby. Harvey Lane where the Gilberts lived from about 1822 to 1832 was somewhat famous as the location of the Baptist chapel where William Carey preached in the 1790s before becoming the first Christian missionary to India. The chapel along with the rest of Harvey Lane was demolished to make way for a new Holiday Inn and associated infrastructure - a controversial decision by the City Council.
A family bible in the possession of Barrie Gilbert ( great grandson of Alfred) verifies much of this information and in addition records the following:
William Ralph Gilbert, late of Hinckley in the county of Leicester, died January 23, 1844, aged 53 years. Buried at Kirby Muxloe, Jan. 26
John William Gilbert, son of William Ralph and Mary Ann Gilbert late of Hinckley in the County of Leicester, died June 9th 1851 aged 34 years. Buried at Kirby Muxloe by the side of his father on June 12th. ( see photo below - there is no separate gravestone for William R.)
Catherine Buckley, wife of Jno ( John) Buckley of Thornton, Leicestershire, died December 2, 1835 aged 77 years. Buried at Thornton beside her husband on Dec 7th.
Anna Rowland, wife of John Rowland late of Stanford Notts. and daughter of John Buckley late of Thornton, Leicestershire, died Nov. 30th, 1843 aged 63 years. Buried at Stanford. ( Anna is sister to Mary Ann Gilbert nee Buckley )
The Parish records also record the burial of Priscilla Gilbert ( nee Holmes) aged 52 on 13th December 1805 and of Thomas Gilbert, late of Kirkby Mallory, aged 48 on 5th February 1799 at Kirby Muxloe. ( also no headstone for this couple )
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Kirby Muxloe is close to Bosworth Field where a famous battle took place in 1485 in which King Richard the Third was killed. His body was taken to Leicester, passing over the Bow Bridge at the southern western edge of the city for burial in Greyfriars churchyard. In 2012 his remains were rediscovered and re-interred in Leicester Cathedral.
This event has resulted in renewed interest in Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth which has become a highly promoted feature of Leicester city. The Gilberts would have been aware of this connection as the road from Hinckley and from Kirby Muxloe into the city is named King Richard’s Road.
The picture below is of the part-completed Kirby Muxloe castle. This was built between 1480 and 1484 for William, Lord Hastings, apparently a supporter of Richard III but building ceased when Lord Hastings was executed on King Richard’s orders for alleged treachery. At right are Border Leicester sheep with origins in Leicestershire from 1767 and now common in Australia as a source of meat and wool.
In May 1790 William Ralph Gilbert was born to parents Thomas and Priscilla Gilbert and baptised at Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire and died in 1844, aged 53 years; buried at Kirby Muxloe. He had two older siblings, Mary Ann and Thomas, baptised at Shepshed, born in 1785 and 1788 respectively. Kirby Muxloe is on the western outskirts of Leicester city and Shepshed is some 20 Km further north.
Thomas Gilbert of the Parish of Garrendon ( now Shepshed) and Priscilla Holmes of the Parish of Westminster were married in London on 19th May 1784, registered at St George Hanover Square. ( parish record above) They were the parents of William Ralph Gilbert. Nothing is known of the Holmes forbears - there were 380 Holmes births in London within 5 years of Priscilla’s calculated birth date of 1753 but no Priscilla recorded; alternatively the family may have been originally from Leicestershire where there were 100 Holmes births in the same period.
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Thomas’s father was another Thomas Gilbert. Thomas senior left a will ( part copied below) when he died in 1791 and this has proved very informative including a mention of his grandson William Ralph Gilbert who was 4 years old at the time. Thomas senior describes himself as “of Kirkby Mallory in the county of Leicester, Gentleman”. He owned a property ( described as a messuage, lands and other hereditaments ) at Burrow-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire, now in the occupation of Mr. Thomas Simpson. Additionally he refers to his dwelling place at Kirkby Mallory with its household goods, furniture, cattle and stock upon my farm, and implements of household and husbandry. His goods and chattels and credits - which excludes the real estate - were worth 2000 pounds at his death, equivalent to about $400,000 AUD in today’s money.
After some bequests to the widow and daughters of Thomas’s other son William, the residue of the estate was divided equally between his wife Mary and son Thomas ( father of William Ralph ). No doubt some of this came to William Ralph after his parents’ deaths and thereby enabled him to buy into the firm of Burgess and Gilbert referred to above.
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There were many Gilbert families in Leicestershire with 1000 Gilbert births recorded over the 80 years from 1700 to 1780.
In the Kirby Muxloe churchyard there are 2 gravestones recording the deaths of 5 children of “Thomas and Mary Gilbert” - Sarah Ann, Emma, James Ralph, Robert and Frederick William, who died between 1821 and 1845 aged from 4 to 25 years. These are probably related in some way to our family but there are so many Thomases and Marys around at the time that it is impossible to trace.
Buckley and Abbott Families
Mary Ann Buckley, who married Wiliam Ralph Gilbert in 1814 at Leicester was born February 1792 at Thornton to John Buckley and Catherine Abbott.
John Buckley, Gent, married Catherine Abbott at Thornton, Leicestershire December 31, 1789. These are the grandparents of Alfred Gilbert.
We have 3 documents relating to this marriage - a long legalistic declaration by John Buckley of Bagworth that he is a widower and there is no impediment to his entering into the marriage, a licence granted in response to this declaration and a record in the Parish Register of the actual marriage. As part of the declaration John provided a surety of 200 pounds ! in March 1789 ( did he get it back at the time of marriage 9 months later ? )
The licence gives the couples ages as 37 for the groom and 29 for the bride. John Buckley had been married to Mary Lea in 1777 and had a daughter Anna in 1778 - this is the Anna Rowland, half sister to Mary Ann, mentioned in the list of burials in the family bible mentioned above.
On the licence the name originally written as Catherine has been overwritten ( probably by the lady herself) as Katherine.
Katherine Abbott (with a K) was born to Lemuel and Mary Abbott and baptised at Markfield, Leicestershire on April 15, 1758.
Rev. Lemuel Abbott was curate at Markfield from 1755 until 1770 when he moved to become vicar at nearby Thornton where he remained until his death in early 1776 - he had reportedly been previously curate at Anstey, Leicestershire but this is not borne out by the parish records. There is a burial records for St Peter's, Thornton for both Rev Lemuel and his wife Mary who died in December 1786 at which stage the youngest Abbott child, Theophilus was aged 11.
Lemuel Abbott was succeeded as vicar at Thornton in 1777 by Rev George S. Abbott who was the officiating clergyman at the Buckley-Abbott wedding in 1789 - he remained there until 1797. It is not known what was the relationship of George Abbott to Lemuel Abbott, if any, but he could have been his son and therefore Katherine’s brother.
There is a publication called “Constitutions of the Society of Stewards and Subscribers for Maintenance and Educating Poor Orphans of the Clergy till the age to be put to Apprentice” dated 1785. Below is an abstract of that document:
As of 24th February 1785, 145 boys and 114 girls had been “elected” i.e supported of which 114 boys and 89 girls had been put out to apprenticeships at age 14 and the remainder remain at the Society’s school. Among those remaining are named “Frederick Abbott, one of seven children of the Rev. Lemuel Abbott, late vicar of Thornton, in the County of Leicester, - elected Aug 32, 1780, aged eight years, and Theophilus Abbott, another of the seven children of Rev Lemuel Abbott, elected Feb 26, 1784, aged 8 years.
The parish records show one other child of Lemuel and Mary - Stephen baptised January 1760 at Markfield but died the same year.
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The likely children of Lemuel and Mary Abbott are :
George b. ca.1756 at Markfield
Katherine b. 1758 at Markfield
Stephen b. 1760 at Markfield
Lemuel b. 1761 at Markfield
Frederick b. 1772 at Thornton
Theophilus b. 1775 at Thornton
plus one other to make seven.
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Rev. Lemuel Abbott published a book of poems ( 191 pages) which can be accessed via the GALE Eighteenth Century Collections Online - entitled “Poems on various subjects. Whereto is prefixed a short essay on the structure of English verse.”
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography suggests that Rev. Lemuel Abbott was the father of the well known portrait painter Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760/1 - 1802) whose most famous painting is that of Horatio Nelson (above right) which hangs in the terracotta room at 10 Downing Street London. Lemuel is reported as having been apprenticed at age 14 to a London painter Francis Hayman ( in 1775, a year before both his parents died). The other portrait is of Lemuel Francis Abbott by Valentine Green.
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On 16 November 1786 a marriage licence was issued for Lemuel Francis Abbott of the parish of St Georges Bloomsbury and Anna Maria Tracey, daughter of Thomas Tracey of the parish of St George the Martyr, Westminster. In his will he refers to his wife as Ann Mary Magdalen Abbott; he died in late 1802, apparently without issue.
The map shows Thornton and Markfield about 12 Km north-west of Leicester and Kirby Muxloe further south.
John Buckley left a will when he died in 1807 in which he describes himself as “Gentleman of Thornton” and names 2 daughters only - Mary Ann Buckley and Anna Rowland, as well as his wife Catherine ( with a C) and his 2 brothers Nicholas Buckley and Michael Buckley.
He also mentions "Stock and Crops upon my Farm" and Messuages, Tenements and Premises situate at Thornton and at Barlestone and Hathern in Leicestershire and Normanton-upon-Soar (in Nottinghamshire, just north of Leicestershire).
His executors were his brother Michael and nephew John Buckley. His personal estate ( which excludes the real estate ) was valued at not greater than 1500 pounds ( $200,000 in present value).
In 1735 another John Buckley left a will in which he mentions property at Thornton, Markfield and Kirkby Mallory. He mentions his sons Nicholas and John and daughters Alice, Barbara and Anne. He also describes himself as Gentleman of Thornton.
In fact this John left most of his estate to son Nicholas partly in trust for John who was at that stage a minor. John senior was buried in 1736 at Thornton and Nicholas was buried 2 years later in 1738 leaving most of the estate to the younger John who was born in 1718 - Nicholas was 10 years older but still only 30 at his death.
Parents of Anne, Nicholas, Alice, Barbara, Katherine and John were John and Barbara Buckley ( Barbara’s maiden name not known ).
In the E-book “Select Views in Leicestershire” by John Throsby published 1790, there is a section on Thornton in which is recorded a memorial in the Thornton church to John Buckley, gent who died in 1735 aged 76 ( no doubt the one mentioned above - giving a birth date of 1658/9 ) as well as a Nicholas Buckley of Trinity College, Oxford A.M. died 1701 aged 27 ( birth date 1673/4).
In all there are 16 Buckleys who left wills while residing at Thornton between the years of 1641 and 1815; and 65 Buckley wills in total in Leicestershire during that period. It is difficult to be certain of the exact relationship between the two John Buckleys mentioned above but it is quite likely that they are grandfather and grandson; the recurrence of the name Nicholas suggests a relationship, given that it is a less common name.
It is clear that the family connection with Thornton extended back into the early 1600s at least with a number of births occurring there and at nearby Markfield around 1605 - records in general are sparse before then.
But the wills indicate that they also had property in surrounding districts, in particular John Buckley ( our ancestor who married Katherine Abbott and died 1805) had property at Normanton-on Soar, Nottinghamshire. On rootsweb.com there is a page by Lesley Donald with details of burials at Normanton which includes a memorial to:
JOHN BUCKLEY Feb 6th 1787
ALICE BUCKLEY Dec 6th 1787
BARBARA BUCKLEY Feb 18th 1794 Abt 7
ANN BUCKLEY Feb 18th 1795
NICHOLAS BUCKLEY June 23rd 1814 - 61
MICHAEL BUCKLEY Sept 25th 1821 - 33
MICHAEL BUCKLEY Dec 3rd 1822 - 67
ALICE BUCKLEY Sept 12th 1825 74
BARBARA BUCKLEY June 6th 1837 - 85
and from the Genuki website, quoting WHITE's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853 (in part):
"Normanton-On-Soar is a picturesque village and parish in the vale of the Soar, 13 miles south by west of Nottingham, bounded on the south by Leicestershire and on the north by :the Wolds. It has 390 inhabitants, and 1,543 acres of rich, loamy land, of which 243 acres were allotted in 1770 in lieu of tithes. .....The manor and advowson belong to John Buckley Esq., and others, who are the successors of the late Thomas Buckley Esq., the eminent breeder and grazier. 1,000 guineas was once given for the use of one of his rams for one season."
On the same website are transcripts of a number of baptisms and marriages at Normanton, including:
Nicholas Buckley of Normanton married to Barbara Bowley, Feb 1784 and their children’ baptisms -
Dec 1785 - John, May 1787 - twins, Barbara & Michael, Aug 1792 - Thomas
The dates suggest that Normanton was an extension of the Thornton family who successfully continued the farming tradition.
It is apparent that William Ralph Gilbert and Mary Ann Buckley shared a common heritage of gentleman farmer in Leicestershire and no doubt were considered a good match.
Interestingly the archaeologist who led the work on Richard III discovery was a Richard Buckley born in Leicester in 1958 - a relative ?
In summary - John Buckley married Katherine Abbott at Thornton, Leicestershire in 1789 and had a daughter Mary Ann in 1792. Mary Ann married William Ralph Gilbert at St Margaret’s, Leicester in 1814 - they were the parents of 10 children including the youngest, Alfred born 1834 who migrated to Australia in 1858.
John Buckley owned property in and around Thornton but also in Normanton-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire and came from a farming family long-established in the Thornton area approximately 10 Km north-west of Leicester city.
Katherine Abbott was the daughter of Rev. Lemuel Abbott who was vicar of Thornton from 1770 to 1776.
William Ralph Gilbert was born in 1790 to parents Thomas Gilbert and Priscilla Holmes, baptised at Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire and died in 1844, aged 53 years; buried at Kirby Muxloe. Thomas’s father was another Thomas Gilbert who owned substantial property including his home farm at Kirkby Mallory and also at Burrow-on-the-Hill, all in Leicestershire.
Alfred Gilbert was born at Enderby some 10 Km south of Thornton.
Landmarks in Thornton - the Bricklayers Arms and St Peter’s parish church.
Below is a Gilbert / Buckley / Abbott family tree extending to Alfred and his siblings in Australia.
For more detail relating to the Gilbert family in London, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa click on the buttons below.
